Proposed Tumalo dispensary sparks concern
There’s been a land-use dispute over a proposal for a half-acre lot in the commercial district of the rural community of Tumalo, west of Bend.
A Bend man is trying to bring Tumalo its first-ever marijuana retailer. But some people expressed concerns to a Deschutes County hearings officer Thursday evening about how that could negatively impact the community.
Michael Hayes owns the Miracle Greens dispensary in Bend. He also owns the Tumalo Food Court just off Highway 20.
The food court currently has a farmers’ market and two food trucks. Hayes is proposing to turn this lot into a dispensary with delivery capabilities.
Right now, Hayes experiences some restrictions with his Bend dispensary because it cannot deliver outside city limits. So he wanted to use his Tumalo property to expand the business and make it possible to deliver to anyone in Deschutes County.
“There’s currently over 1,500 medical patients that we can’t service that call us daily, wishing that we could deliver product into Deschutes County, and we can’t,” Hayes said. “We’re limited just to the boundaries of the city.”
An ODOT representative also expressed some concerns about traffic impacts at the already busy Highway 20-Cook Avenue intersection.
Hayes said he would hold his Tumalo dispensary to the same award-winning standard as his Bend dispensary. The hearing officer said that won’t be taken into consideration when making his decision.
